Morning journal and courier., 1887-11-19
HAVEN, CONN, NOVEMBER

sions to the different evangelical divisions of
| the church than any other one denomination
| during the past two years.
Austria seems disposed to follow the exam
pie of Belgium in passing enactments for IKE
stern suppression of drunkenness. The Aus
trian government is proposing to extend the
act aimed at excessive drinking, which is al
ready in operation in Galicia and Bukovina,
to the whole of the empire. The main pro-
visions of the enactment are the restriction
of the number of licenses and the increase of
the penalty for drunkenness to a fine of e4
and imprisonment for two months. Any per-
son who is unlucky enough to be convicted
of drunkenness three times in year is to be
forbidden by the police to frequent public
houses in and around the town in which he
resides, and any disregard of this prohibition
will be visited by heavy penalties.
The case of Foitras against Lebeau is one
Of the most remarkable ever argued in Cana
da. Poitras, farmer near Montreal, one
August evening in 1885, after severe ILL
ness went to the Church of St. Anne du
Bout de PIsle, and when it was time to knee1
found that on account of the pain he could
kneel on one knee only. Lebeau, who was
constable of the church, ordered him to bend
both knees Poitras said he couldn't. After
church the constable arrested him on a
charge of committing act of irreverence
in the church. Poitras, to avoid scandal,
paid the imposed fine of $500 under protest.
He then sued Lebeau for $4,000 for having
case was tried by jury, and Poitras was
beaten. The court of appeal confirmed the
verdict, and now the case has been argued
before the Supreme court at Ottawa. The
case ia being made test of the right of the
Church to exact the penalty imposed, and
there is no lack of money on both sides. The
judges of the Supreme court, two Roman
Catholics and four Protestants, have reserved
judgment.
The recent sfdeal" has brought the Westezd
Telegraph company's history into prominence
again, and the Electrical Review invites at
tention to some OF the additions of water to
the stock of the company. In 1860, for ex-
ample, Congress offered bonus of $4,000
year for ten years to any parties who would
undertake the construction of a telegraph
line from the Missouri river to the Pacific
coast. Certain directors OF the Western
Union company accepted this offer, and
1 100 miles of wire were strung between
Brownsville, Neb., and Salt Lake City, where
connection was made with an existing line to
San Francisco. The cost of this 1 100 miles
of telegraph line was $147, 200, or $134
mile, and large profits were made by the
contractors at this figure. Subsequently
81 900, 900 in stock of the Pacific Telegraph
company was issued on this expenditure, and
when that company was absorbed by the
Western Union So, 900, 900 of stock of the
latter company was issued in payment for the
Pacific telegraph stock. Soon afterward the
stock of the Western Union was trebled, and
thus by simple process of manipulation an
original expenditure of $147, ,000-of itself an
exorbitant outlay-was swollen until it came
to represent 100000 of Western Union
stock, to pay dividends upon which the bust
ness of the country has been taxed for nearly
quarter of century. More than this, the
property thus represented had within ten
years been nearly thrice paid for by the gov
ernment bonus of $40, 900 year.